Presidential office lashes out at main opposition for raising groundless suspicions

(ATTN: UPDATES with fresh revelations on opposition party in paras 1-8) SEOUL, May 31 (Yonhap) -- The presidential office accused the main opposition party Tuesday of attempting to seek its help to save an ailing savings bank, a counterattack after the opposition raised suspicions that top aides to President Lee Myung-bak could have been involved in a savings bank scandal. A presidential official claimed that the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) asked the presidential office to relax regulations on the capital adequacy ratio to help keep Bohae Savings Bank, based in the official's stronghold southwestern port city of Mokpo, afloat. "A party official made the request on behalf of a lawmaker," the presidential official said. "It is not clear whether he belonged to the floor leader's office, but the official even gave us related documents." The request was rejected as it is unfair to give favors to one bank, the presidential official said. The revelations represented a counterattack by Cheong Wa Dae on the opposition party after former DP floor leader Park Jie-won raised suspicions that Chung Jin-suk, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, might have played a role in Busan Savings Bank's takeover of another savings bank. Presidential officials have dismissed Park's accusations as totally groundless. The exchange of accusations reflects the high stakes that the rival sides have put on the snowballing corruption scandal that has already led to the fall of Eun Jin-soo, a former top state auditor close to President Lee. The scandal is about corrupt savings banks seeking influence of high-level people to avoid punishment for irregularities. The opposition sees the case as a chance to dent the reputation of the ruling camp. It has raised a series of suspicions pointing to the possible involvement of more high-level officials following allegations that Eun, the former top auditor, took bribes from an ailing bank. "Core officials of the No. 1 opposition have been raising groundless suspicions that confuse the people only for the sake of political gains," a key Cheong Wa Dae official told Yonhap News Agency. "Should these suspicions prove to be untrue, they have to take responsibility." The presidential office rejected these suspicions as groundless and demanded the opposition party apologize. "Who would believe these suspicions even when basic facts are incorrect?" a Cheong Wa Dae official said. "There would be a day coming when they should take responsibility for engaging in immoral politics like this." The ruling Grand National Party (GNP) and the DP agreed Monday to launch a joint parliamentary investigation into the scandal in next month's extraordinary session, a move seen as a reflection of the ruling camp's confidence that it has nothing to hide. "We believe every single detail should be brought to light through a parliamentary probe," a presidential official said. The scandal has been a top political and social issue in South Korea for months. Busan Savings Bank was found to have engaged in extending illegal loans to large shareholders and other financial irregularities involving billions of dollars in total. The bank has also been accused of tipping off its employees' relatives and VIP customers about its impending suspension in February so as to help them withdraw their deposits in advance. The scandal also revealed problems with the practice of government officials taking private sector jobs after retirement in the fields they regulated while in office, and the presidential office plans to toughen related regulations, officials said. "We will expand the scope and duration of employment restrictions on senior officials and apply them in a stringent manner," an official said.